Tax dollars seek projects

I am a weary taxpayer. I am becoming wearier every year as every branch of government strives to reach deeper and deeper into my pocket for more taxes while seeking ways to eliminate tax breaks through SALT legislation and repeated attacks on Proposition 13, etc., and inventing ways to spend the extra taxes they collect.

Case in point: The Nov. 21 issue of The Village News contained several articles regarding tax dollars searching for projects.

The Adult Distracted Driver Campaign is a yearlong program to educate drivers of the hazards of using cell phones and texting while driving, funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety in an amount not stated. Granted, it is a serious problem, and we all witness dangerously distracted drivers. There is a solution, however. There are laws governing the use of cell phones while driving a vehicle. Enforce the laws, issue a citation and make the violators pay the price, not the innocent taxpayer. The taxpayers are already paying for this form of education, and it is the most effective form.

Probation department received a $369,000 grant to monitor high-risk repeat DUI offenders. Apparently many repeat offenders are being released by the courts and placed on probation, thus the need for extra supervision by the probation department. Once again, a demand is made of the taxpayer to fund additional services for offenders. Might society more likely gain the intended result if repeat offenders are called to task and required to serve the appropriate sentence?

Rene Cousteau wrote a letter to the editor regarding the extra taxes sought by Fallbrook Public Utilities District and North County Fire Protection Department. Jim Lyle wrote on the need for volunteers to help with downtown area maintenance tasks. Both writers hit the nail on the head. The debate has been well aired on Proposition A, and we await the vote result. Lyle correctly asserts that we need to either do the work ourselves through volunteers or hire someone to provide essential downtown maintenance. My wife and I will retire Jan. 1, and intend to rise to the occasion and help Jackie Heyneman and Jim Lyle and their army of helpers who carry this load for Fallbrook.

A letter to the editor regarding the rip-off “foreign aid” from Dr. James Veltemeyer speaks for itself. If you didn’t read this letter, please dig last week’s paper out of the trash and read it. The figures are appalling.

San Diego County received a grant for child passenger safety program. The California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded a $225,000 grant to the county Health and Human Services Integrative Services Division to educate parents and guardians on child passenger safety. Consider that today’s adults of child-bearing age were themselves supposed to be driven around in car seats. The first car seat law in the U.S. took effect in 1979, and within six years all 50 states had car seat laws requiring that children ride in car seats. Within two years of that time in 1987, 80% of all U.S. children or their parents were in compliance. People know better now and need no further education on the matter. Issue a citation. This education is a service for which the taxpayer has already paid.

Businesses and residents are abandoning California in large part because of the hostile tax environment. California is too wonderful to be destroyed by a tax-hungry government. Let’s stand up and reverse the trend. Make your voice heard; volunteer to help in community projects and let the “Friendly Village” maintain some degree of independence.

Steve Brown